


Solivagant

by Dindindjarin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), F/M, The Mandalorian (TV) Season 2, din dj
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28044246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dindindjarin/pseuds/Dindindjarin
Summary: Lana had never seen anything outside of Sorgan. She stayed inside her boundaries for years, until a certain Mandalorian stepped foot on her planet.I’m a wattpad writer and I’m new to AO3 still trying to figure it out haha!
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Lana woke from her slumber when the light attempted to penetrate her eyelids, annoying her to wake. She rose from the bed to begin getting dressed for the day of farming with her father which was ahead of her.

She didn't like wearing dresses while working, so she would wear pants which set her apart from a lot of the women in her village. She threw on her green and blue tunic, along with her black pants which sat tight to her body. She drew a breath in putting a hand through her hair.

Her father was a krill farmer all his life, which meant it was to be passed onto Lana when her father was to retire from his work. All her life it was just her and her father. She never met her mother, she died during childbirth. She often wished she could have at least met her mother. Sometimes she would blame herself for her mother's absence. She tried her best to push those thoughts away.

She looked around her home, it wasn't very spacious as others, but she didn't mind. She had her bed, her desk and most importantly she was across from her father's cabin. She remembered when she decided to move out and into her own home. Her father was slightly saddened by her absence, but he knew she was growing older, and was beginning to become more independent. Her father had seen her strength while growing up and saw how different she was from the other younglings, it blossomed as she did into adulthood.

Lana was taught to be independent, and that she was. Her father and her had worked together but he knew that she could've easily taken over the entire settlement on her own. She was naturally intelligent, but often struggled when it came to making relationships with others. She had her father and Omera, those were her closest companions. She knew the other villagers, but none she would consider great friends.

Pulling her hand through her hair and back to rest it on her neck, she collected her hair scarf to wear for today. It belonged to her mother. It was a beautiful dark blue with gold stitching of flowers. It was worn now from hard days of working, but Lana still found its beauty.

Lana's hair was short, right above her shoulders. Her hair would naturally dry wavy, her father said it resembled much of her mother's hair. Her hair is a way she differed from other women in the village who desired to wear their hair long. She found it difficult to deal with while working and cut it short. She hadn't seen her hair long in ages.

Putting on her boots over her black pants she started her way toward the doorway of her hut, but before she could leave the door her father was standing at the bottom of her porch with baskets in hand ready to go along to their pods. She stood in the doorway admiring her father, he had a large smile on his face as he did everyday prepared for the day's work. He was getting older, yet he kept his smile on each day for his daughter, even as the years went on it, the work was tougher and tougher on his body.

"Ready?" Her father asks, still standing at the bottom of the porch. Lana nods and begins to make her way onto her porch. When she gets to him, she accepts a few of the krill catching baskets he was carrying. They began their short walk to their pods just outside the village.

All was normal, everyone was also getting ready for the day and started on their typical work day throughout the village, trying to get everything done before daylight ran out. It was a strange feeling day, everyone seemed happy, like all was well. It was a strange feeling, like calm before a storm.

Lana had only started working when she started to feel as if something bad was to happen. She glanced over to her father while throwing a basket of krill to the outside of the pod. She could hear the voices of the kids playing and the other women of the village talking among themselves. All was normal she tried to think to herself. She just shook her head and went back to working, you're just overthinking again.

Lana had a history of overthinking things. She would never admit, not even to her father, but it happened more often that she would like. She was shook from her thoughts when a large flock of birds frantically flew over her head. She was right, today was not a normal day. 

Everyone looked up from their work to try to understand what was happening around them. Lana scrunched up her eyebrows while searching the perimeter of the village. She was searching for the reason behind the birds sudden escape. She swallowed the ball in her throat, looking over to her father who had a worried expression painted on his face.

There was rumbling. She could feel it in the ground and in the water, it produced waves. Everyone was starting to panic now, as was she. She waited though, in the eeriness of these booming sounds, she stood painfully still. Terrified. Her father began his way toward the edge of the pod. People began starting to panic even more and began running toward the huts.

Then there they were.

The raiders.

Shots began going out and exploding on impact. The water would explode, and so would the land be surrounding the pods. Lana began shaking in fear slowly backing to the edge of the pod. She was moving in slow motion. She couldn't believe what was happening in such a backwater town like this. Nobody here in this village would hurt a fly, and now, they were being attacked? For what cause?

She threw herself over the edge of the pod and stood up quickly, she was almost knocked over by the retreating villagers. She starred frantically at the incoming raiders. She looked to her father who was struggling to try to get out of the water. He had such fear in his eyes, the look she had never seen from her father.

There was smoke everywhere, she could hear their low growls all around her. She grabbed her father from the pod and yanked him up before trying to sprint away from the incoming attackers. Her father was falling behind, his feet kicking out beneath him. Lana noticed his cries of pain behind her. He had twisted his ankle but refused to stop running with his daughter. She stopped and on instinct threw his arm around her neck, trying to take the majority of his weight.

She could hear them violently raiding through all the work the villagers had been doing. The bags of krill were being torn open and knocked over, like their work was meaningless. They were crushing the baskets they used to catch the krill without any hesitation. They would destroy the working stations in seconds, which took lifetimes to prepare all the work they had destroyed with a drop of their boot or a swing of their staff.

Lana cringed at the sound of it. They were ruthless beings, if they could destroy this, what would they value a human life? She began to panic more. She could feel her father become weaker and weaker, continuing to lean on her. She began running faster and faster until her father and her reached her home. She tried to climb up the stairs with him to hide until the invaders dispersed. She felt his body shoot forward, away from her grip. We were almost safe she screamed in her head. her father laid in the dirt, face down with a shot through his lower back. She screamed when she saw him, she could hear his painful groan.

She didn't know what to do, she picked him up with all the power in her body and brought him inside her home. She had tears boiling in her eyes. She knew what was happening. She collapsed on the ground with her father's head in her lap. He was holding his stomach with every breath bringing a pained groan.

Her tears would spill and hit his fingertips, which he brought to her face with the last once of strength his body had. "I love you, I'll be alright." His fingers wiped away a single tear weakly. Her father's hand fell back to his side as he took his final breath in his daughters' arms. Lana looked into her father's eyes until he was gone. She knew the moment it happened, the moment he stopped feeling pain. The moment her father left this world. She dropped her head and sobbed. She sobbed so uncontrollably she hoped the raiders would come and take her too.

But they didn't.

They left, minutes after her father died in her arms.

Silence fell among the village again. They got what they wanted and left the village in shambles. Lana didn't know how long she had sat there crying. It was like she had blacked out. All she remembered was Omera coming into her hut and seeing her broken down on the floor. 

•·················•·················•


	2. 2

Lana didn't leave her home for days. Omera would visit her occasionally and try to get her to eat but she would always refuse. Omera tried her best to take care of Lana through her grief. She'd visit her multiple times a day, trying to comfort her and take care of her anyway she needed. 

She would sit with Lana through her brief sprints of sobbing and shaking. Omera knew time would be the only healer. She would take her into her arms and held her until she exhausted herself from sobbing. Her breathing would finally slow and she'd be falling back into her restless sleep. This was a regular thing for the last couple of days. It broke Omeras heart to see her this way.

Her father was buried just outside the village on the tree line, alongside her mother. It was the one-time Omera could get Lana to leave her bed. But, immediately after the burial Lana was back to the loneliness of her home. The only voice she heard for days was Omeras.

Omera was often a mother figure to Lana, with respect to her birth mother. She was there when Lana needed guidance that couldn't come from a father. Omera knew she had to take care of Lana now, and needed to be there for her at all costs. She was broken. 

It was the fifth day Lana was lying in bed.

Omera came to Lana's cabin at the routine time that evening. She laid the plate of food down on her desk that was directly behind her bed. Lana was wide awake, just staring at the wall, it wasn't a blank expression, she was thinking. Thinking about what she could've done to have spared her father's life.

Omera sat on the seat beside Lana's bed and rested a hand gently on her upper arm. She rubbed it slowly trying to ease Lana out of her episode of grief. Lana turned her head toward her who was giving her a reassuring smile.

Lana sighed siting up slightly from Omeras touch. She rested on her elbows stretching her back slightly, trying to relieve her aching. Omera was taken back, she hadn't seen Lana sit up in five long days.

Omera grabbed the plate from Lana's desk and tried to offer it to her. Lana rose from her elbows to sit up in her bed.

Omeras smile grew as she saw the progress Lana was making. Lana nodded her head, before softly grabbing the plate from Omera placing it in her lap.

Omera rubbed her knee as she began diving into the plate in front of her. "I'll fetch another plate, you need to get some strength back." Lana paused for a minute at Omeras words. She realized how weak she truly was right now. She was dehydrated, her veins stuck out of her arms and her hands were shaky.

I've never seen myself this weak before, she echoed to herself.

"Thank you." She mumbled into the piece of bread she was devouring.

Omera stood up slowly before walking out of the hut, taking one last look at Lana. She was happy to see her finally taking care of herself again. She knew it had to be done on her own and in her own terms.

•·················•·················•

As Lana finished her second plate and, she finally was ready to face the village again. She pushed the blankets of her cot off her lower half. She took a breath in before pulling her legs off the bed. Pulling her chin up, she looked at Omera who stood with a fresh set on clothes for Lana. 

Lana happily accepted the clothes she had gotten for her. It was what she usually wore outside of work, her black pants and a long sleeve black and blue tunic. "Thank you Omera, she pauses not looking to her, "for everything."

"We all need some help sometimes." It's all Omera says before leaving the hut, letting Lana get changed. Lana frowned, she didn't like feeling as empty as she was right now. 

•·················•·················•

After putting the fresh linens on and her boots, she took her first steps out of the hut. She drew a breath in quickly when she sees the setting sun. Everyone was making their way home from the day's work on the pods. The children were being called home from spending the majority their day with the other younglings.

The air felt thicker, like her breaths she tried to draw in were tougher than the days earlier. Lana scanned over the village, it was almost as if the raiders never really came. It seemed everything was almost back to normal.

Almost.

Lana stepped down from the porch's steps. She took a glance at her fathers home. It was empty with his spirit missing. She couldn't bear to deal with the heavy grief anymore. She loved her father more than anything in her world, but she wanted to stop feeling such pain. She gave her head a shake before turning her head and walking toward the middle of the village.

Lana sat herself at the fire pit which was the center of the homes. The flames were growing in-front with every blank second passing. The rich colors of orange and red mirrored those of the setting sun. She was waiting for her brain to link a connection with her father, but nothing came. It was like her brain was exhausted from the grief she endured over the past few days.

"Lana?" Omera spoke up behind Her. Omera took a seat on the bench next to her. Omera looked at Lana's eyes but they just stared into the void of flames.

"Our pods. I haven't been harvesting them. I shou-" Omera interrupts her sentence. "It's taken care of." She rests a hand on Lana's shoulder. "Everyone has been contributing, don't worry." 

Lana breathes out, it was almost a breath of relief knowing her harvest was being done in her absence. She was grateful for everyone's kind consideration, she was just horrible at expressing such emotion but, Omera knew she was thankful.

"Do you think they will return?" Lana asks, it's just above a whisper, but Omera catches it.

Omera takes a slow breath in before looking back to the flames. "Well, there's no way in telling so." Lana's head drops lower, she didn't know what she was feeling. She just didn't want anyone else to get hurt, she didn't want other people to feel the pain she's feeling.

"But," Omera continues, Lana finally turns to her, "Stoke and Caben have an idea on how to rid them."

Lana finally lifts her head and faces Omera. "Those two? H-how?" It was like she was hanging on the edge of her seat for the answer.

"A man landed not so far from here. Rumored to be from one of the strongest and most skilled clan to exist. A Mandalorian I believe they called him. They're going to ask him for protection tomorrow. I don't know if I truly trust those two to negotiate with him though. Why don't you go with? Maybe get out of the village?"

Lana stayed silent. Omera was weary of what she said, she was afraid it might have upset Lana. Lana realized she needed to try getting things back to normal in her life. It was okay to be sad and mourn her lost father, but at some time she needed to start getting back on with her life, her father would've wanted it that way.

"You're right, they're hard workers, but I don't know if I trust those two goofs so much with their negotiating skills. Should we really be trusting those two with this." Lana let's out a short, soft giggle.

Omera smiles wide at the sound. It was the first smile she had seen on Lana in too long. It's such a gorgeous smile, Omera thought you herself, like her mother's. 

"Lana! You grew up with those boys." Omera jokingly says back to Lana's comment. "I know, I shouldn't joke about that." Lana glances to Omera trying to hold in her laugh. Omera can't hold hers in and they laugh together. It was a laugh that was comforting to Lana, a laugh that was another step forward to her healing.

Lana and Omeras giggles come to a close and the only sound heard now is the crackling of the logs in the flames. "I'll speak to them, make sure to let them know you'll be coming along." Omera yawns the end of her sentence.

"Okay, okay great." Lana nods to herself.

"I should be getting back to Winta, would you like to walk with me?" Omera offers her a hand. Lana takes it in hers and stands with Omera. She takes one last glance at the fire before following close behind her, back to their homes.


	3. 3

Lana, Stoke and Caben had been riding in the speeder in what seemed like days. The majority of the time arriving to the Mandalorians ship was spent with Stoke and Caben asking her strange questions and attempting to make boring conversation.

Lana knew they were just trying to be kind and make this dreadful ride less awkward, but she was just that.

Awkward. 

Even if she hadn't have just lost someone so important in her life, even if she wasn't broken, she would have been the same way. Lana liked these men, but often it would come off she was annoyed. But it was just her personality. She was bad at forming friendships, it often made her sad to think about it. She longed for that connection, but she knew she couldn't form it.

When the trio arrived to the Mandalorians ship, Lana had fell into a light sleep while they were riding at nightfall. It was the first restful sleep she has had in a few days. She didn't know if it was the stars which made her so relaxed, or the slow speed of the beaten down speeder which put her to sleep, but either way it was much needed.

Her blissful sleep was prematurely ended when they finally made it to the ship. She was laying in the very back with her head rested near the corner of the speeder. When the jolted forward she hit the top of her head on the hard metal.

Guess that means we're here.

The two men looked back and saw Lana rubbing circles around the top of her head, they gave each other a look, and both said "Sorry" in unison.

Lana just softly laughed it off, earning a small smile from the men. She shifted her glance from them to the giant silver structure in front of them. Lana has never seen such a mechanism. It was almost half the size of the entire village. It looked like it had been through hell, but still she thought it was one of the most incredible feats she's seen around here.

In her defense they only really have old simple droids and a couple broken down speeders.

She took her eyes off the body of the silver ship and made her way to the man who seemed to be tugging and huffing at the wires beneath it.

"That's a Mandalorian?" She whispers to the two. "I think so." Caben breathes out.

Lana looks the man up and down trying to take in the beauty in front of her. His armor was such that she's never seen before. The stars lit it up perfectly under the night sky where she could evaluate every twist and turn and dip of the brilliant material. He was stocked with this armor all over his body, including his head.

When the three of them started stepping toward the man, Lana began to feel afraid. She didn't know what a Mandalorian was capable of, she'd never heard about them until yesterday.

What if he's someone we don't expect him to be?

Mando notices them the second they pull up. He doesn't miss a single step they make, but they don't know he's watching them and studying them so closely.

Stoke tries gain the man's attention, "Excuse me?"

Lana took a step forward, so she was in line with the other two. She had her eyes still stuck on the armor all over the man's body. 

The man had completely ignored Stoke, then Cabens high pitched voice spoke up, "Excuse me sir?" The blank silence made Lana grow increasingly uncomfortable.

"Is there something I can help you with?" His voice was booming through his helmet. His voice was cool yet modulated through the metal. Lana was cautious of the man, but she couldn't stop her mind from enjoying to calm tone of his voice.

He stayed working on his ship seeming as if he wasn't even giving them the time of day.

Caben and Stoke moved closer to him frantically trying to gain the mains attention on the importance of their journey here today.

"Raiders." Stoke spits out.

"We have money." Caben says trying to convince the Mandalorian to help. Lana tries to speak up, but for some reason the words get caught in her throat. She crosses her arms over her chest uncomfortably and just glances to the men speaking. Well mostly the two villagers are the ones speaking.

"You think I'm some kind of mercenary?" The Mandalorian questions them. At this point she doesn't know if she's even noted being there by them anymore. She's silent and still. She wants to speak up, but her voice seemed nonexistent.

Caben turns to look at Lana who has her head bowed now but her eyes up at them. "You are a Mandalorian right? Or at least wearing Mandalorian armor-that is Mandalorian armor, right?"

Lana senses annoyance from the Mandalorian. They were just some villagers bothering this man who was just trying to fix his ship up.

The armored man turns form the spot he was working on the ship and walks past the three villagers. He takes a glance at Lana who is standing alone further away from the ship. "It is." he states looking at her straight on.

Mando knew her eyes hadn't left his body. Not in a seductive way, he just knew she was interested in the heavy metal plates covering him. He thought it this backwater town they probably don't have many visitors that looked like him.

She meets his gaze and dips her head back down as quick as she could. She hoped she didn't make the gesture too obvious but, nothing goes past Mando. Part of him wishes he could've caught her gaze for longer.

She's beautiful, Mando thought to himself.

He was almost in shock from the thought that came into his head. He shook it off and continued to the other side of the ramp which was connected to his ship.

Caben and Stoke glance at her but she is still is silent. Lana takes a breath in.

Say something, she says to herself.

"See I told him, sir I read a lot about your people try-try...."

"We have money," Lana says, almost louder and sterner that she thought possible from her frame. She didn't want to beat around the bush any longer, she knew what the man wanted.

Under his helmet his eyebrows rise slightly. He liked her tone, he wished she was the one talking the majority of the time, this conversation would have gone by faster and easier.

He stopped what he was working on and turned to look at her. He tilted his head to this side considering the offer.

He saw she still had her arms covering her chest, she didn't look confident talking to him, but she sounded more confident than the two men combined.

"How much?" Mando spoke soft, softer than he did when communicating to the other two.

"You can have everything we have... we don't have as much we want to give. Our entire harvest was stolen during the...raids." The last word was almost choking in Lana's throat.

She could hear Mando push a breath out beneath his helmet. He knew he needed the money, but the good in him knew he should help these people even if he won't get the payout he needed.

"We have lodging, food... anything you need. After our next harvest you can have all the profit."

Mando popped his head up to meet the woman's gaze again. He knew he should take up on this offer for a little while.

"Where do you live?"

Before she can answer back to him, Mando starts to get a better look at the girl in-front of him. He can tell she has not been doing well. The bags under her eyes were dark, her eyes were bloodshot, but it still didn't take away from her beauty. His eyes dragged over her body, taking her frame in. She was slightly shorter, but not by much. She was almost as tall as the men that accompanied her.

He could tell was something was wrong. Her emotion was missing. She seemed so empty and broken just from a glance to her empty eyes.

"On a krill farm, a day's ride from here."

"In the middle of nowhere?"

"Y-yes." She pushes out.

Lana was terrible at communicating with strangers. Their community never got a lot of new people coming around, so the only strangers she really knew were the ones who killed her father.

The adrenaline from first speaking up to Mando had begone to wear off. She realized how nervous she was now, to be standing in front of this heavy armored man. She feels her legs wobble slightly beneath her.

What if he didn't like the offer? What would he do then? What would we-

Her rumbling thoughts are cut off from the mans modulated voice.

"Okay, then get those boys to come up here and help."

Lana's eyes light up when she heard his words. She let out a sigh of relief knowing he agreed to their trade. 

Caben and stoke were shocked. She looked to them and they nodded before starting to grab things from the man's ship.

As the two walk up the ramp and into the ship, The Mandalorian walks closer to her. 

He is a short distance from her, at least a stride of his step. He stayed cautious when stepping toward her.

"Mando." he says to her. She's confused for a moment but replies. "Lana."

He could hear her slightly stutter at the beginning of her name.

"I am going to need one more thing from you Lana, the credits." 

She nodded without saying a word. He puts his hand out as she takes the credits from her waist. He could see how weakly her hands looked. It almost pained him to see her shaky hand drop the credits in his hand.

The mysterious man gives her a small reassuring nod before slowly turning on his heels and heading into the woods. This confused Lana, but she didn't understand a thing about him, and she wasn't going to start now. 

•·················•·················•

Eventually, the speeder is packed up with the man's things, he is still missing when the three of them are finished loading. Caben and Stoke make their way to the front two seats, as Lana sits in the back of the speeder, she lays down into a bundle of soft linens she had been resting on before.

Sleep has not come easy lately. She feels her eyes become heavy, and instead of waiting until the man comes back, she takes her shot and getting some rest


	4. 4

Mando sat in the silence of the night with his back rested on the speeder. He sat across from Cara with the little one sleeping soundly tucked into his side. Everyone was well into their slumbers, except him. He couldn't get comfortable where he sat, with his hands hanging over the sides of the rust bucket.

His gloved hand hung just inches above Lana's head beside him. He could see her features easily in the light beneath the bright stars. Her face was relaxed, compared to how she looked when they spoke earlier. That relaxing look was diminishing into angst slowly. He started noticing how she was beginning to stir more with it. 

He started leaning closer toward her, keeping his distance. He could see her face scrunch up, and her hands started shaking. Then her arms, then her legs. All of her.

Mando moves to place a hand on her back, in between her shoulder blades. But before he can touch her, she jerks harshly while her eyes pop open.

She takes a large gasp in. She was shaking, her hands to her knees. She flipped over from her stomach and sat up quickly, bringing her knees to her chin.  
She grasped the side of the speeder. Her nightmare seemed so real and intense she had to grab something to make sure she wasn't still imagining things.

The sun is just beginning to rise over the trees. The speeder is still going its same slow pace as yesterday. Everything was normal, except her.

Her breathing was sporadic, her tears burned as they dropped onto her chest. She tried to be as quiet as possible, she was hopping no one would notice her episode, but she didn't realize Mando saw everything.

Mando draws his hand back and looks at the shaking girl. He didn't know what to do to comfort her. 

He doesn't say a word neither does she.

Mando finds it hard to express his own emotion, but he knows pure heartbreak and terror when he sees it.

Lana keeps her face in her knees trying to regain her sense of reality. She doesn't know how long she was crying, or how long she was shaking from the terror she experienced in her dreams. 

What feels like an eternity later, Lana finally slows her breathing, her body stops the trembling.

I'm okay

I'm safe

She repeated those words to herself over and over.

Lana wipes the tears that covered her face and sniffled her last sniffle. She pushed a breath out before throwing her head back. She starred up at the stars, trying to have them put her mind at ease.

Mando is still looking toward Lana, he stays silent. He asks himself if she's aware his awake.

Did she not see me when she woke up?

Mando turns his head back so he's looking at his feet. With Lana's mind now clear, she catches his movement in her peripherals. She lifts her head to look at the side of his helmet.

Lana's embarrassed she let him see this episode. Lana doesn't say a word to him, she directs her line of sight to the other side of the speeder.

There's an outline of a woman's body across from Mando. She was too embarrassed to ask Mando who she was, so instead of worrying about she slumped back down in her spot.

She had her back to Mando now, hopping to ignore the situation. 

Lana didn't go to sleep after she woke up. Instead she laid on her side staring blankly at the carrier for a while until she thought she could hear the soft modulated snore coming from next to her.

She sat up in her spot and waited until the tops of the homes in the village were in her line of sight.

When they made it back to the village Lana forgot to wake the other two. They both jerk awake at the sudden stopping on the cruiser.

Lana jumped out landing in front of the oncoming children. The children just ran right past her to the side of the speeder.

Lana looked back to where they ran to and saw a little green baby being surrounded by the children. Lana tilted her head slightly.

He has a son?

When she turns her head back around Omera is waiting with a big smile gesturing Winta to follow the other children.

"Did everything go okay?" Omera asks placing a hand on Lana's back.

Lana didn't exactly understand the question whether she was asking about the negotiation or about Lana herself. 

Lana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Everything went great." She says without looking at her.

Lana didn't want to tell her about the tough night she had. Omera was excited to see her healing process, Lana didn't want her to worry anymore about her.

Mando and his companion walked up to the two. "Welcome, I'm Omera."

"Thank you for having us. This is Cara, she'll be helping out." Mando gestures to the badass looking woman beside him.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lana." Lana's voice sounded flat, she wasn't trying to be rude, it was just like she didn't have the will to try and sound excited.

Lana smiles to her, looking back to Omera. "I'm gonna go wash up." She glances back to Cara, "It was nice meeting you." She tried being as welcoming as she can with her monotone voice. 

Lana found herself back in her quarters.   
She had washed her hair and was combing through it while seated at her desk. Looking out the window, she saw children running and playing around the village. It made her heart a little less empty hearing their small giggles. 

Lana often pondered what being a mother would be like. How excited her father would be to be a grandfather, or how many kids she'd like. But, before she could have kids, she needed a companion. That included something she was afraid of, intimacy.

She's shaken out of her thoughts when the fully armored man enters her home with heavy footsteps. He's carrying multiple bags on his back and a large box through the door.

She shifts on her chair to face him, confused. He took his eyes off the bin he was carrying and directed them to her.

"Omera told me this is where I was staying. I apologize if I was intruding."

Neither of them knew what to say. She could feel the silence around them.

Mando slowly brought the box down to his feet, not dropping his eyes off the girl in front of him.

Lana knew where Omera told him to go.

Her father's old home.

"I-I think you're mistaken. You should probably be staying at the one across from here." She stands up from her chair to guide Mando.

Lana stops in front of him to offer her help in carrying his things, but before she could ask, a little green child waddled in after him.

Her eyes dropped to the little thing which held onto Mando's foot. She felt a smile form on her lips at how cute the child was.

"He's adorable." Lana breaths out, she slowly squats down, not trying to scare the child. She stretches her hand out, looking up to Mando for permission.

Mando meets her eyes. He couldn't help but lose his breath when she looked up to him like that.

Her eyes were big and her smile wide, he hadn't known her very long at all, but it was the first he'd seen her look truly happy.

"May I?" She whispered to him.

Mando nearly choked on his words.

"Y-yes." Mando stuttered below his helmet. The modulation of his voice covered his mistake.

Lana reached her hand out to child who still grasped Mando's ankle. The child looked up to Mando, then back to Lana.

Mando set himself down to the same level as Lana, rubbing his thumb over the child's head gently. Lana kept bringing her hand closer, the child took her finger in his hand.

Lana couldn't help but get butterfly's seeing the cute little thing grasp her finger with a smile.

Lana loses herself in the child's softness and innocence. She forgets what she was doing. Lana reluctantly took her hand away from the child and stood up, overlooking the two.

Mando took the child into his arms.

"Do you mind? He seems to like you." Mando gestures the child to her.

She gladly accepts and scoops the child into her chest. She holds the child so its facing her, when she glances down its eyes are large, and a tiny smile of joy is covering its face.

Lana makes her way around Mando, and toward the doorway.

Mando picks up the large box in front of him again with a grunt which caught Lana's ear.

He followed her closely, walking into the new hut which was nearly straight across from hers.

Lana took a deep breath walking into the home. She tried control her breathing manually so she wouldn't get to worked up being in there.

The child noticed her irregular breathing and held itself closer into her chest.

She gazed over all the emptiness of the home. Her father's things were packed up and given to her, opening the home up to others. She hated how it looked now. His presence was completely wiped.

She placed the child into the empty cot which sat in the corner of the room against the wall. She took one last glance at the child before turning back to Mando.

Mando was setting his things down and organizing them throughout the room.

"That child may be cute, but it's a bit of a trouble maker." Mando says in response of her silence.

Lana couldn't help to flash a small smile at his comment.

"That little guy? How coul-" she's cut off by the lightning speed of Mando's arm wrapping around her waist shielding her behind him. She sees him grab his pistol from his hip and aims it at the doorway. Lana drops her head and hides behind Mando's body.

Fear strikes through her, but before she can think about all the possible situations, she hears a gasp, not a shot.

It was Winta sprinting into the hut, she stops in her tracks. Omera walks in behind her with a plate of food in hand.

Mando's pistol slowly dips back down into his holster, and his arm which was pushed on Lana's waist had fallen.

Winta wraps her arms around her mother's waist, she looked terrified. Omera was shocked by the action, as was Lana.

More silence.

Finally, Omera breaks it up "I brought you some dinner." She says handing the man the plate with Winta stuck to her hip.

"Thank you." He says putting the plate on the desk.

Omera glances at Lana before looking to Winta.

"He's not going to hurt you, he's here to help us." Wintas demeanor changes. She let's go of her mother and slowly walks into the hut.

"Can I play with him?"

Mando glances to Omera. "I don't know if that's-" Lana cut him off by grabbing the fabric on his elbow gently.

"He'll be fine." He turns around to Lana, who's head peers over his shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

"He'll be fine Mando."

Mando sighs, turning his attention back to Winta.

"Sure." His voice falls flat talking to the little girl.

Winta's face lit up as Mando placed the child by her feet.

Running out, the child followed after Winta with his short waddle.

"I'll leave you two then." It was the last thing Omera said before throwing a smirk to Lana.

Lana was sort of taken back by Omeras gesture, but she ignores it. Mando is one to catch everything that comes his way, but that comment wasn't something he quite caught.

Mando turns on his heels and meets eyes with Lana.

"Do all Mandalorians have that quick of hands?" Lana asks, she meant it seriously but all it does is earn a small chuckle from Mando.

Lana enjoyed his laugh, it was low and made the modulated voice of his more human.

"I can't speak for them all." Under the helmet he had a smile painted over his face. She was so innocent in the way she spoke to him. He liked her innocence.

Lana's next question fell out of her mouth.

"When was the last time you took it off.... infront of someone?"

Mando was caught off guard with her next question. He knew she meant no harm, but usually Mando would go increasingly uncomfortable when people would ask him about it. It was a touchy subject for him. But something about her made him feel comfortable enough to speak.

"I couldn't have been much older than Winta." He says grabbing his riffle and began cleaning it in front of her.

"No one has seen your face since you were a child?"

Mando stops what he's doing a looks up to her.

"My parents... they were killed when I was young. Mandalorians took me in." His voice got quieter.

Lana doesn't know what to say. Only that she knows his pain. Mando breaks up the silence between them.

"This is the way."

Lana felt like she had crossed the line in her questions.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." She starts tapping her foot growing anxious as each breathless second passes.

He sets his weapon on the desk, dragging his hand over the barrel, not facing her. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes it good to talk about it, to remember it."

Lana was at lost for what to say next.

"I should go and leave you to eat. If you need anything I don't mind if you come bother me." It comes out wrong, Mando tilts his head slightly, looking at her.

"Not bother but disturb me." Wrong again.

Mando finds her stumbling of words entertaining. He speaks through his chuckle. "I understand, I understand."

She looks at him then back to her feet with a grin of embarrassment on her face.

"Have a good night Mando."

"You too Lana."

•·················•·················•


	5. 5

It was a day after Mando and Cara's arrival. The two went out in the morning to scout for the raiders, they hadn't returned for hours. Lana wasn't aware much of this though. She made her first day back to her pods since the raiding's.

She felt sick the entire day, scared, anxious. But the thing that kept her strong is that her father wanted to her to be passed on the pods one day. She was doing what her father wished for her, to keep on the legacy.

Part of her didn't want this legacy. A part of her wanted to leave this place. Not because she hated it, but because sometimes, it didn't feel like home anymore. Like there was nothing truly anchoring her down to this place. 

She set a record, she didn't cry once that day. She'd get sad, maybe a few tears but no more sobbing and trembling. It's the small victories she payed attention to. 

Her hair scarf was nearly falling off her head and her face was covered in dirt. When she finished her work for the day, she returned to her home to get washed up and fix her messy hair. When she got to the doorway of her home, she took a glance back to where Mando was staying, it was vacant of him. She wanted him to be there, so that she could share another small conversation with him, or at least catch his gaze for a few seconds. 

•·················•·················•

A little while later, people started gathering outside of Lana's home. 

She stood in front of the rest of the villagers waiting for Cara and Mando to speak on what they found. Omera and Winta found their way beside her. Omera held Mando's child close to her, he cooed toward Lana and reached out to her, which caught Omeras attention. Lana gave Omera short tug of her lips before she distributed the child into her arms. She took a glance to the child to make sure he was comfortable, then looking toward Mando.

She met his eyes through his visor, he nodded to her. She wondered what that meant, or if it meant anything. Lana grinned at him while slowly rocking the child.

It did something to him, something he couldn't explain. Seeing her hold the child, acting so affectionate toward him, it made his heart speed up at the sight of it.

Mando could tell Lana was hanging on the edge of her seat for what they found, he was almost sad to tell her that they couldn't do anything about the raiders.

Mando stood up from where he was leaning on the wall to start speaking over the chattering villagers.

"Bad news, you can't live here anymore."

Lana's eyebrows scrunched up at the words that fell out of Mando's mouth. She turned to Omera giving her a confused look. The rest of the village did the same.

Cara spoke up to try to clear the villages head. Mando was very blunt with his statement and it seemed like he just didn't want to help them.

"I know this is not the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options." Cara spoke up.

"You took the job." Stoke yells from behind Lana.

Cara, seemingly annoyed by his statement responded, "That was before we knew about the AT-ST."

A hush fell among the villagers.

That doesn't sound good.

"What is that?" Stoke said back to her.

The ex-shock trooper responded with "The armored walker with two enormous guns that you knew about and didn't tell us."

Lana turned to Stoke and Caben to see if it was true. There was so much smoke and chaos during the raiding's, she didn't remember seeing one.

The crowd of villagers grew annoyed and angry with Cara. Lana kept herself quiet, everyone was upset, she didn't want to get into it to. She sensed distress in the child as the arguing grew louder.

"We have nowhere to go."

Cara tried to make the situation cool off. "Sure, you do. This is a big planet. I mean I've seen a lot smaller." It only angered the villagers more. 

Mando was as silent as Lana. She could feel his eyes on her, and her alone. She kept her eyes forward on Cara, not daring to glance back at him. She was irritated at the situation and partially at him. 

"My grandparents seeded these pods." Caben yelled from in the crowd.

"It took generations." Stoke chimed in.

"I understand. I do. But there are only two of us." Cara spoke calmer now.

"No, there's not. There's at least 20 here." Stoke tried to convince her.

Cara shot back "I mean fighters be realistic."

Lana couldn't help but become angry, she tried her best to push it down, but she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Teach us!"

"We can learn!" Among other things were yelled from the crowd.

"I've seen that thing take out entire companies." Lana could hear the pain in her voice, like she got it firsthand.

Omera put a hand on Lana's shoulder. 

"We're not leaving." It was the first words Lana had said in the entire conversation.

"You cannot fight that thing."

Mando finally speaks up from behind Cara. "Unless we show them how."

"Fine then. Tomorrow, be prepared we start your training." At the sound of Cara's final words, the villages break up the gathering.

Cara hops off the porch and follows some of the other villagers away them. Once everyone has left, Lana brings the child to Mando. 

Silently, she hands the child to him, she smiles to him, turning to go find Omera. Mando wish he had something to say to make her stay just for a little while. 

•·················•·················•

The next morning, the half of the village stopped their work to begin training and prepare to fight off the raiders.

Mando and Cara laid out the plan for the villagers. They started with building barricades along the borders and digging out one of the pods for the walker to plunge into.

Cara began training a group of villagers combat skills, Mando began teaching how to shoot a blaster.

Omera was the only one out of the village who knew how to shoot, Lana never knew her life story very much, the village never had guns, so it confused her how she knew to shoot.

They stood in line having Mando hand them each a blaster. When Lana got to Mando he gave her a simple pistol, he could see she was nervous to shoot it. Her quivering hands accepted it slowly, without looking up to him.

When they all lined up in front of the makeshift target range, Mando kept his eyes on Lana. He knew none of the villagers had held a gun before, but none of them were shaking as much as she was.

When Mando said the order, everyone put their barrels toward the pans.

"Fire." Mando says. He watches everyone miss, besides Omera who was center target with every shot she took.

Lana didn't miss though, she didn't even shoot.

With every practice they did that day with every failed attempt at hitting the target, Lana never shot.

Mando found the rest of the villagers to be successful in the training what seemed like forever later and ordered them to return home to get ready for the oncoming night. 

•·················•·················•

Lana was the last to return her weapon to him.

"Lana, you didn't shoot. Once." Mando's voice had a slight annoyance when speaking to her.

Lana dipped her head down, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

"I was afraid."

"What are you afraid of?" Mando asks, he was so close to her, Lana could feel the light being bounced off his heavy armor.

She felt the tears well in her eyes. She blinked them away and let them sink down her face leaving a hot trial behind them.

"About a week ago, during the raids... my father was shot and killed." She held in breath not letting herself get overwhelmed, she had to accept her father was gone. "A blaster took my fathers life away. To weld that power it's terrifying."

"I wanted to learn but, I couldn't draw myself to do it."

Mando nodded to himself.

"I'm sorry."

Lana looked up to him.

"Will you teach me not to be afraid?"

Mando felt like his heart grew heavy hearing her plead to him. He saw such strength in her eyes, such will. He knew she could be so skillful and powerful, but there was something that stopped her. He knew her pain could be such a guiding light, it could only boost her, but she let it hold her back. 

"Yes. We have time before nightfall."

Mando grabbed another blaster from his box, this time it was a riffle like Omeras. 

He walked toward the range with her following close behind him.

They reached the targets and he was determined to get her to shoot. 

He hands the gun to her, she peeked up to his helmet before taking the blaster from him. She took a deep breath, she was shaking slightly still. She had her finger off the trigger, trying to steady her hands to aim the heavy blaster.

Mando took note of her stance, she was so conformed and squished together. He guided her feet out to get her more distance between her stance. He hooked his fingertips on the dips of her waist and moved it, so she wasn't straight on with the target.

She felt heat shoot through her. She choked on her breath when she felt his touch on her. She tried so hard to keep herself at bay from his touch. 

"You have anger, you have pain. Use it." He was so blunt but spoke softly and meaningfully to her. 

Mando kept his hands on her hips putting his helmet next to her ear. "Fire."

Immediately she did as Mando said and shot.

A hit

Mando's hands left her and she dropped the blaster to her side with a huff.

"I did it." she breathes out. 

"Now do it again."


	6. 6

Night fell over the village. Everyone found their positions for the attack. Lana was shoulder to shoulder with Omera. 

There was silence among the village at all the stations awaiting Mando and Caras arrivial with the raiders close on their tails. 

Before anyone knew it the two were sprinting inside to barriers. Behind them came a giant machine, the one Cara spoke about. 

They dove into the pits the villagers had dug earlier and began the commands. 

"Weapons ready." Cara shouts

Lana grows more nervous as the thudding of the walker continues toward them. In the trees shes sees two red eyes glowing, they were high, higher than Mandos ship. Lana swallows the ball in her throat and turns to Omera. She can tell how nervous Lana is. "We got this." Omera tries to reassure her.

The giant emerges from the woods, stepping closer toward the hole they dug earlier. "Almost there." Lana says to herself fervoursly waiting for the machine to plummet into the hole but she spoke too soon. It stops right before the pit. 

It now stood looking over the village, waiting for something. It felt so eerie, having the machine look over the village, knowing it had the high ground over them. 

Lanas breath hitched when a light from the machine began shining toward them. The light blinded her temporarily. 

Omera and her hid behind the barricade. Lana tried rubbing her eyes and blinking excessively but it didn't make the spots in her vision disappear. 

The light scanned over the entire barricade before it halted and fired on the village. It had a lousy shot but still did damage to the structures around them. 

Lana felt the heat of the sparks fall around her. 

After the shot, Lana heard framiler roars coming from beneath the beast. 

Its them

The raiders began sprinting toward the blockade. Lana felt herself begin to tremble but fought her oncoming panicking. 

"Open fire!" Cara yelled from infront of them. 

There was chaos every where, guns blasting, raiders yelling, barricades being blown away. It was overwhelming to the girl.

Lana had her gun set on top of the wall with her eyes closed calming herself. 

Mando turned back to her and saw she wasnt shooting "Use your anger Lana, use it dammit!" 

Lanas eyes shot opened at the sound of Mandos voice and realized what he said to her again. 

She nodded, taking a deep breath. She held the gun close to her body and began open fire on the incoming bandits. 

A hit

A hit

A hit

The large mech started shooting at the village again, creating more chaos. Lana ran from her position next to Omera to throw herself into the pits next to Mando and Cara. 

"We need to get that thing down!" She shouts to the two of them. 

"What do you suppose we do?" Cara yells back. 

"Take that rifle and get its attention, lure it in." Lana continued shooting at the incoming raiders. Cara glances to Mando, mando tossed her his rifle. 

"Let's hope this works." She says loading the rifle. 

"Have any other plan?" Mando asks breathlessly. 

Cara began running toward the mech with Mandos riffle in hand. She tried her best to cover Cara so she could fulfill their plan. 

Amid all the chaos Lana didn't see the giant Mech fall, she was to focused on taking the raiders infront of her out when it did.

She heard the boom and she saw it crush into the ground. "She did it." She says to Mando, but he doesn't respond. He threw himself out of the trench and began running toward the mech with a red glowing weapon in his hand. 

Lana watched in aw as Mando blew it to pieces and the last of the raiders retreated. She got her last few shots in before a breath of relief leaves her. 

Lana exhausted slumps over the ground in front of her from the pit. Omera quickly comes to her side. Omera lets out a small laugh and smiles with Lana. 

Omera pulls Lana into her arms. "Your father would be proud." 

At that moment Lana couldn't contain her emotion, her raw emotion. She broke down into Omeras arms. It was strange, her emotions were all over the place. She thought shooting down the raiders who killed her father would make her feel better, but it didn't fill her empty soul. 

•·················•·················•

The next few days following in the village were quiet. It was mostly cleaning up the disater that swept through.

Mando stayed close to Lana, usally wherever she was helping, he would too. Vice versa. 

Mando and her continued to bond, with their small conversations a few times throughout the day, or the small glances they would give eachother after they were done. 

Omera saw the spark between the two and she was happy for Lana, she was fond of the Mandalorian and thought it would be good for her. 

Little did Omera knew Mando would be leaving them.

•·················•·················•

A week after the battle, Mando and Cara were still hanging around the village, Cara was mostly drinking Spotchka and Mando would help with whatever the villagers needed to rebuild some of the structures that were destoryed. 

This one evening, Mando and Cara sat outside of Mandos home. They could see Lana playing with the child near the fire pit with the other children.

Cara was sat down on the porch while Mando was leaning against the side of the house with his hands crossed infront of him. 

Mando watched as the little child giggled while Lana would make faces at him. Once in a while Lana would pick him up and bring him up into the air which just made him giggle even more. 

He couldn't help but watch the two interact. Part of him wanted to join them. It truly filled his heart.

"So what happens if you take that thing off?" Cara asks to him taking a sip of her cup. "They come after you and kill you?" 

"No, you just cant ever put it back on again." Mando says blankly.

"Thats it? So you can slip off the helmet, and settle down with the beautfiul girl and raise your kid sipping spotchka?"

Mandos silently beaming under his helmet at her. He knew she was right, but he had to fight his thoughts, this is the way. 

"You know we raised some hell here recently, its too much action for a backwater town like this. word travels fast, might want to cycle the charts and move on."

"Would not wanna be the one whos gotta tell him." Cara says surprised, pointing at the child with her cup.

"I'm leaving him here. Traveling with me, thats not life for a kid. I did my job, he's safe. Better chance at a life."

"Its gonna break his little heart." 

"He'll get over it. We all do." Mando says. It was more like he was trying to convince himself. 

•·················•·················•

Later on into the evening after Cara left, Mando decided to talk to Lana about the child. 

He silently walks into Lanas home. She doesnt notice his step, he coughs trying to get her to notice. He watches her jump at his sudden sound. 

"Oh, Mando hi." 

Lana is sitting on her cot reading through a book when he arrives. Its later at night, she isnt dressed in her usual atire. Now she is in a gray sleeveless nightgown that stops above her knees.

He couldn't help but keep his eyes off the beauty infront of him, but he restrained himself knowing he should respect the woman in front of him. 

"Hi- I just wanted to say something before I leave tommorow." His words felt dry to him, "Thank you for your hospitality. You and the community have been too kind." 

He felt his fists curl at his sides, his inner consciousness yelling at him to just to stay. 

"You did your job, we had to repay you." Lana explains, stepping from her spot on her bed, to be an arms length away from him. 

"I'm leaving the kid here." He finally pushes out.

"Oh." 

"Would you..." he draws out. 

"I'll watch over your boy. I promise." She reads his mind.

Lana gives him a weak smile, she didn't want him to leave. She grew so comfortable around him. 

Her friend.

Before another word left either of their mouths a gunshot rang through the village.

Mando sprinted outside to the child with Lana at his heels. He took the child up from where he was siting around the other children at the fire pit. The child squeaked as he briskly handed the child over to Lanas familiar arms. 

Mando stripped himself of his cape and wrapped it around Lanas exposed body. He gave her one squeeze of the shoulder before sprinting toward the forest.

Lana quickly ran with the child into her home where she sat back on the cot she was previously, rocking the child to ease its scard and confsued cooing. 

•·················•·················•

Not much time had passed before Mando returned to her. She still had his cape wrapped around her.

"What was that?" She questions Mando. 

"People are coming for him. It was another bounty hunter. I thought he'd be safe here. I was wrong."

Lana looked down to the child with a frown, but she knew it would be best for the him. 

"So you're taking him?" 

Mando sets himself down on the other end of her bed. 

"I'm sorry." 

Lana wasn't ready to lose either of them yet.

"When you leave... could I-I come with?" Lana is afraid to meet his gaze, she felt like what she asked was too risky. 

"You want to leave here?" His voice sounded so soft even with his modulated voice.

"This is my home but, I want to get out of here. For a little while at least." 

"I think you'd make a great ship companion." 

Lana lifts her head and smiles. She was excited, but yet sad to be leaving Omera.

Mando lit up at the thought of having her travel with him, to have her companionship. 

•·················•·················•

The next day, Lana had her things packed in a bag Mando had let her use. She only brought clothes and a few things of her fathers. She knew she couldn't bring everything of her fathers so she gave her other things to Omera to hold for her until she was to return. 

The goodbye process was something Lana wasn't expecting to make her feel so down, but so free. 

The goodbye which hurt her the most was Omera and Winta. Omera had teared up when Lana told her she was leaving that day. Lana wished she could've gave Omera more of heads up but Mando insisted they didn't to leave immediately.

Lana pulled away from Omeras hug. A hug that felt like home, the only person that made her feel this way was her father. 

"Come back once in a while." Lana can't help but feel a tear fall from her eye. "I'll miss you."

With that, Lana turned her back to Omera and loaded her pack into the cruiser. Mando had loaded the last bin and turned to Lana. 

"Well then you two, until our paths cross." Cara says behind them, putting her hand out to Mando. "Until our paths cross." Mando repeats back to her.

Lana hadn't expect Cara to do the same. She grasped her hand and repeated back to her "Until our paths cross."

"Keep him in line would you?" Cara says teasing the two.

Lana gives her a soft giggle. "I'll try my best." 

Mando scoffs, turning his head toward Lana "Are you ready?"

Lana finds her spot on the cruiser with her legs dangling over the edge. Mando makes his way beside her with the child between them.

Lana watched as the group of villagers waving them goodbye slowly dissapeard into the horizon.

This was the start to a journey she'd never expected.


	7. 7

Lana had never been to space before. She had only heard the stories her father would tell her, or the crazy made up myths the other children would pass around.

In the cockpit of the razor crest, she sat in one of the two passenger seats behind Mando. The child in its quickly made up booster seat beside her. They had to have been out of the atmosphere of Sorgan for at least half a day flying through space.

Lana felt her eyes start to feel heavy and her yawns began coming more frequently.

"Mando?"

Her and Mando hadn't spoken much since they left the village. Not because they were mad or anything, but Mando was not very talkative and Lana was still sort of afraid of everything around her because it was all brand new to her.

The second Mando heard her speak he put the Razor Crest in autopilot and turned completely around to face her.

"Something the matter?" He questions. Lana yawns again in response to his question.

"Would you like to go rest?"

Lana shrugs. She wondered if the great Mandalorian ever got tired, she never caught him off guard once. 

Mando turned his head toward the sleeping child then back to her. "Follow me." he stands up from the leather pilot chair leading Lana toward the belly of the Razor Crest.

Just as Mando steps a foot outside the cockpit the ship was struck. Lana and Mando were thrown against the side of the hallway. Mando knew exactly what hit the ship. Lana pushed herself back into the doorway. Another strike to the ship threw her to the ground beside Mando's pilot chair.

Mando fought his way back to his seat among the turbulence. He couldn't even glance down to check on her as he was flicking switches and pressing buttons frantically trying to figure out how to get away from the attacker. Lana crawled back to the passenger seat, glancing over to the child who was awake and more alert than ever.

"Hand over the child Mando." The voice of the pilot of the opposing ship chimes in over the intercom.

Lana looks at Mando in distress. "Is this one of the bounty hunters? Why does he want the kid so bad?"

Mando doesn't respond to her amidst the oncoming fire he's trying to pilot around.

"I might let you live." The pilot says again.

Lana begins to feel terror as the ship is making increasingly loud sounds and sparks fly into the cockpit.

An alarm starts blaring as one of the engines is shot down by the pilot. Lana tried to lean back and close her eyes. She tries to imagine happy thoughts, not appending death.

I should've stayed home

Mando frantically is trying to do something to the ship to get the upper hand on their attacker.

"Hold on." The razor crest turns does a corkscrew making Lana sick to her stomach. She grunts trying to keep herself from vomiting from the motion sickness.

"I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold." she hears the voice over the speakers again.

Suddenly, Mando drives the Crest to grinding stop. Lana tries to hold onto her seat but her body flies toward the glass panes in front of her. Mando launches his arm out to catch her and drag her into his lap.

Lana grips onto his arm over her chest trying to regain her breath. She winces as the opposing ship grinds over the top of the razor crest. She pushes the hair out of her face watching the other ship fall right into Mando's trap. 

"That's my line." That's the last thing Mando says before blowing the man's ship to pieces.

Mando drops his grip on Lana and she uses her shaking legs to find her seat again. Her chest continuously rose and fell with each second.

Alarms were going off continuously in the crest. Mando tried everything in the book to solve the problems but all the power went out in the ship. Lana bit her lip when the cockpit went dark, she was freaking out in her own head so much she wanted to scream, but from the looks of it Mando was so calm and collected.

He walks over by the child and queues the emergency power to try to get them to safety. The power kicked in and Mando found his spot back in the pilot chair. He used the remaining fuel to boost them to the orange planet in their view.

"This is Mois Eisley tower, we've been tracking you. Head for bay three-five."

"Copy that locked in for three-five."

As the Razor Crest lands in the bay, Mando turns to Lana who looks sick to her stomach. "How was the ride?" He asks teasing her. She rolls her eyes.

Mando gets up from her seat as does Lana. She puts her hand on the back of the chair trying to regain her balance. Mando picks up the child from his make shift booster seat and they continue down to the belly of the ship.

He places the child gently into the compartment. "He'll be safe in here." He reassures her.

Walking out of the Razor crest Lana was leading Mando, she was looking around the bay. On Sorgan there wasn't any places like this, she was trying to take in the most she could. 

Lana stopped to let Mando catch up to be by her side. Before she knew it, Mando had whipped his pistol out of his holster and shot at one of the droids who started dancing toward them.

Lana was about to question Mando's motives about the droids until they heard a yell from inside. 

"Hey! Hey! You damage one of my droids you'll pay for it." She threatens.

"Just keep them away from my ship."

"Yeah you think that's a good idea, do ya? Let's look at your ship." The woman began pounding on the ship examining it briefly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout."

Lana glances to Mando, he just shrugs his shoulders.

"How did you even land? That's gonna set you back." The woman says walking back to the two.

"I've got 500 imperial credits." Mando grunts.

"That's all you got?"

"I'll get your money."

"Hmm. I've heard that before." The mechanic says, turning away and toward the ship.

"Just remember..." Mando continues.

"No droids. Yeah, I heard ya. You don't have to say it twice." 

Mando started his way toward the door to lead him outside the landing dock. Lana was struggling to keep up but tried her best. She follows him down a path of completely sand making their way into the cantina. Before they made it though, they passed by a group of stakes with Storm trooper helmets on top of them.

Lana grabs his sleeve gently, staying close to him but also an attempt at staying the same pace as him.

"Mando..." she grabs his attention. She points to the helmets smashed onto the stakes. He doesn't stop walking though, just speeds up his pace. 

When they enter the cantina its empty. The few people at the bars voices echoes throughout it. Upon their arrival to the counter where the droid was located, Lana stayed close to Mando's side, examining the room.

On Sorgan she never quite left the village, especially not to places like these. She was expecting more people, but she guessed wrong. She could smell the liquor from behind the bar. The sour smell leads her face away from the conversation and brought her to search the room. 

Lana's eyes reach to a man seated behind them. He had his feet up on the table in front of him and he was playing with something between his fingertips. 

He caught Lana's glance and looked her body up and down. Lana saw him lick his lips as he washed his eyes over her curves. She quickly turned away, trying to ignore the man. She never had someone look at her the way he did, she wanted to tell Mando she wanted to leave, but the man spoke up before she could.

"Think again, tin can."

Mando shifts himself to look at him. Lana shifts also but doesn't look up to him.

"If you're looking for work, have a seat my friend." 

"Names Toro, Toro Calican. Come on, bring you and that girl over here and relax."

Mando tensed up at Toros words, Lana grew uncomfortable.

Mando put his hand gently on Lana's lower back, something he's never done before. He guided her to sit inside the booth and he sat next to her. Mando found himself annoyed or even angry at Toros comment about her. He wanted to make sure Toro wouldn't try anything.

Lana sat with her hands in her lap only looking at the puck Toro sat on the table. Mando was leaning over the table but kept one hand on her back. The mix of the storm trooper helmets, the shootout and Toros uncomfortable advances made her anxious again.

Lana felt his thumb do circles through the fabric which separated his touch. Lana felt safe under Mando's touch, it comforted her in front of Toro.

"Picked this up before I left Mid Rim. Fennec Shand, an assassin. Heard she's been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown."

"I know the name." Mando states.

"I followed this tracking fob here. Now the positional data suggests she headed out beyond the dune sea. Should be an easy job."

Lana looked up for a second, meeting Toros snarky smile. He winked at her from across the table. Mando felt Lana shudder.

"Well, good luck with that. Let's go Lana."

Lana stood up to stand beside Mando with her arms over her chest.

"Wait wait, hey I thought you needed work?"

"How long with the guild?" Mando snaps at him.

"Long enough."

Mando grew tired of his cocky comments. "Clearly not. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates including the Hutt's. If you go after her, you won't make it past sunrise."

Mando puts his hand back on Lana's back, this time it was lower.

Toro ran up to the couple again. "This is my first job." He admits. It was obvious to Mando, as were lots of things.

"You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the guild." Toro pleads to the Mandalorian.

Mando thinks for a second, examining the situation, deciding what the best option for the kid and her would be. 

"Meet me at hangar three-five in half an hour. Bring two speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob."

Mando awaits his order, but Toro instead destroys in on the wall.

"Don't worry, got it all memorized."

"Idiot." Lana mumbles. Mando smirks at her comment.

•·················•·················•


	8. 8

Lana and Mando are back at the hangar. The droids or the woman are nowhere to be found. Lana walks up into the ship to check on the child where he was left. Mando soon found himself behind her peeking into the compartment.

Lana froze when she realized the child was missing. Mando sprinted out of the ship, she does a double take around the ship trying to search for the missing child.

"Hey!" Mando growls. "Where is he?"

Lana ran down the ramp to be beside Mando. He quickly glances at her before the mechanic walks out with the cooing child.

Lana lets out a sigh of relief when she sees the little green child wiggling in the woman's arms.

"You woke it up! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?" she complains to the two.

"Give him to me." Lana hadn't heard Mando speak so stern before, she sort of liked it how protective he was of the child.

"Not so fast!" Peli protests.

"You two should know not to leave a child all alone like that." She takes turns glancing at the two of them. "You know, you two have an awful lot to learn about raising a young one."

Mando is silent while starring at the baby in Pelis arms.

"Uh, we know, we do. We're new to this whole parenting thing. You're completely right." She agrees with the woman, in attempt at calming down the two of them.

Mando's feelings get confused.

Did she call us it's parents?

She hands the little bundle to Lana. "Thank you." She holds the child so he can face Mando as Peli continues.

"There you go. I had a couple setbacks I want to talk to you about." She starts banging on the machine in front her.

"I didn't use any droids as requested, so it took me a lot longer than I expected." Lana stays at listens to the mechanic as Mando retrieves a pack from the ship.

"But I figured the two of you were good on money since you have an extra mouth to feed." She gestures to the child.

Mando finds his place next Lana again, "Thank you."

She quickly hands the child over to Peli again, then tries to catch up to Mando who is making his way out the door. 

Peli follows the pair. "Oh, I guess I was right you got a job, didn't you?"

Lana doesn't respond, neither does Mando as they walk through the door to meet Toro.

"You know it's costing me a lot of money to keeps these droids even powered up." Peli complained behind them. 

Lana felt her face drop when she saw Toro leaning back on one of the bikes. Lana saw his wink to her, she hid behind Mando as he started putting his stuff on the back of the speeder.

"Enough of that." Mando grunts to Toro. Like a little puppy Toro obeyed and took his eyes off Lana.

"Right, right so what do you think? Not too shabby huh?" His tone changed into more nervous since Mando told him off.

Mando ignored him while examining the bike in front of him. He gripped the metal bars which seemed like they had been through hell and back. Mando tilted his helmet to the side looking the old thing. 

"What'd you expect? This ain't Corellia." Toro took a final glance at Peli and the child before hopping onto his bike.

Mando looked down at Lana for a moment. "You don't have to go if you're not comfortable. This guy's kind of a prick and this could be dangerous, I don't want to push you."

Lana lit up at his words. She knew he wanted the best for her, especially out on her first couple of days after leaving her home.

"I can handle myself. I want to go."

He turns back to the bike and gestures with his head to hop on. She does so, struggling to keep her balance. Between her legs, Mando gets in front of her.

Mando felt her legs hesitantly wrap around his own, her ankles wrapped around his.

Mando glances back, "Hold on."

She gently wrapped her arms around his waist, thinking it would be enough to keep her from falling off. She was wrong about that one.

As soon as the bikes took off, she felt her body fly back. She quickly regains her grasp on Mando. Sand shot into her face as they road, she kept her face digging into Mando's back. She tried opening her eyes to see just a little bit of the landscape, but each time she did she was plagued with sand in her eyes. She hated the sand. 

•·················•·················•

Later she was finally given break from the grasp she had on Mando. She stretched her arms above her head with a groan, gaining a look back from Mando.

"What's going on?" Toro questions.

"Look. Up ahead."

Far off into the distance, Lana spotted two Banthas. Mando got off his bike and leaned against Lana's leg. He gave her knee a soft couple of taps before looking toward Toro again. "Those are Banthas." She whispers for only for Mando to hear. She had read about them in books but never saw one in real life. 

"Tusken Raiders. I heard the locals talking about this filth." Toro speaks before Mando can respond to Lana. 

"Tuskens think they're the locals. Everyone else is just trespassing." Mando follows.

"Raiders?" Lana whispers again to Mando.

"I promise, they won't bring us harm."

Lana watched as two tuskens started walking closer toward Toro.

"Whatever they call themselves, they best keep their distance." Toro pushes his chest out.

Lana scoffs at his cocky comments. "Yeah? Why don't you tell them yourself?"

Lana can't help but conceal her laugh as she watches Toro jump away from the raiders. Lana and Mando walk toward Toro and the raiders. "Relax."

Mando starts gesturing to the Tusken raiders with his hands communicating with them.

"What are you doing?" Toro asks.

What do you think he's doing?

"Negotiating." Mando continues.

"What's going on?" Toro asks anxiously.

"We need passage across their land." Mando responds.

The raiders began replying. Lana had never seen Tusken raiders before, she only read about the Banthas when she was younger. 

"Let me see the binocs." Mando says more of a demand than a question.

"Why?" Toro protests.

"Just give them to him " Lana states.

Mando takes them from Toro's grasp and tosses them to the raiders.

Toro begins protesting to Mando about his binocs.

"Those were brand new!" he exclaims.

"Yeah? They were. Let's go."

•·················•·················•


	9. 9

Mando, Lana and Toro bodies were against a sand dune overlooking the desolate valley. Mando made sure to lay in between the two, analyzing the reptile that they stumbled across with a body attached from the reigns.

"Alright tell me what you see." Mando says to Toro. Before Toro can speak up Lana interrupts.

"It's a dewback. Riders still attached by his heel." Mando turns his helmet to her, tilting it slightly. He recognized this was a second time Lana had identified an animal they've come across on their mission. 

"I didn't leave my home much, I've read about lots of different species such as banthas and dewbacks." She mumbles trying to explain herself. Mando grins under his helmet at her embarrassment, he loved to see the pink hue of her cheeks when she got like this. 

"Is that the target?" Toro says trying to keep himself from falling down the side of the ridge. Mando turned his attention back to Toro acknowledging the situation in front of the group. 

"I don't know. I'll go, you cover me." He grabs another blaster from his waist and hands it to Lana. "Stay low."

Mando picks himself up from the ridge and glides over the sand. Each step he took Lana grew afraid of how far he was getting, leaving her alone with Toro. She tried her best to not look at him, she kept her eyes focused on the dewback in front of her.

Mando cautiously stepped up to the rider, with every stride closer he got the dewback would bellow. Lana knew this was a sign of distress and kept her eye out for Mando. He had his pistol drawn, turning the body over he realized it was just another bounty hunter.

"It's not her." Lana says to Toro, keeping her distance. 

"Hey, I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff to yourself." Toro shouts from over the ridge. Mando ignored the young bounty hunters request and began searching the body for anything that could be of use to them.

Mando found a tracking job hidden in the dead man's pocket. Quickly he lifted his head to the direction it was beeping toward looking for the bounty. Mando was very intelligent but he fell right into Fennec Shand's trap.

Right as the words "Get down" shot out of his mouth, Mando's beskar was hit with a shot. Lana felt her heart drop seeing Mando fly to the ground. Toro dropped to be behind the ridge, but Lana kept her head up aiming her blaster and where the shot came from. There was nothing, no one around them.

Mando scratched his way off the ground and sprinted toward Lana. Just as he found himself on the edge of the ridge another shot rang out throwing him down the side. Lana turned from her position on the hill. "You alright?" Toro asks. He crawls back to his position between the two.

"I'm fine. Hit me in the beskar and at the range beskar held up." He pants. He touches his head onto the sand then picks it up to look at Toro through his visor.

"Sniper bolt. Only a MK-modified rifle could make that shot." Mando sounded irritated, exhausted. All he wanted to was get this damn bounty to fix his ship and get out of Tatooine. But he had to put up with this over his head bounty hunter and getting shot at by one of the most elite mercenaries to still exist. The only thing that kept him sane was the thought of keeping Lana and the child safe. 

"Well, so what do we do?" Toro exclaims. The cocky bounty hunter seemed so lost and so confused as what to do. He acted like he knew everything to know about bounty hunting, but here he is pleading for help. Lana laughed to herself at the thought.

"You see where the shot came from?" Mando asks, barely reaching his head over the plain.

Toro searched around looking, but in all honesty, he had no idea. "It came from that ridge." Lana points.

"Good. Okay, we're gonna wait until dark." Mando begins to lay out his plan.

"What if she escapes?"

"She's got the high ground. She'll wait for us to make the first move." Mando says sliding down the bikes. Lana follows his lead. "You take the first watch. Stay low." Mando demands.

Mando found his spot leaning with his back against the bike. Lana followed him, doing the same right next to him, their shoulders the only thing touching. 

•·················•·················•

After nightfall, Mando awoke from his rest, Lana was sound asleep. Mando found her with her head resting on his shoulder plate. He decided he would just sit for a while until Toro decided to wake him up letting her rest. He was looking up at the stars, hearing her soft snores. He felt at home.

That was until Toro came up to him. "Come on, wake up." Toro danced toward him. "Look at you, asleep on the job, old man."

Mando groaned to himself at Toros comments. Toro chuckled to himself, before pulling his blaster out and pointed it to Mando. Mando was annoyed that he began aiming the blaster at Lana now.

"You done?" He asks. Embarrassingly Toro drops the blaster and his act. "Yeah, yeah, I was just, you know, waking you up. Come on."

Mando taps at Lana knee to wake up. She groans lifting her cheek off Mando's shoulder. She rubs it gently soothing the soreness of it. Mando stands up offering her a hand. She groggily takes it, then leans against the bike rubbing her eyes.

"Get on your bike. Ride as fast as you can towards those rocks." Toro does as he says and takes a seat on his bike, but not all willingly. Mando slips a couple objects from his bag.

"That's your plan?" Toro scoffs, "She'll snipe us right off the bikes."

Mando tosses him one of the small objects. "Flash charge. We alternate shots, it'll blind any scope temporality. Combine that with our speed and we might have a chance."

"A chance?"

"Hey you wanted this. Get ready."

Lana finds her spot behind Mando again. She was exhausted she wished she could've gotten a little more sleep then the barely couple of hours she was given. The revving engine of the bike awoke her though as they began flying toward the ridge.

"Stay close to me." Mando shouts over the engine to her. She nods into his back in response.

As they drew closer to the ridge where the sharp shooter was, Mando released a shot into the air. It lit up everything around them. The shot thrown by the assassin grazed Lana's leg as they swerved around it. Another flash charge sets off into the sky at Mando's command.

Lana kept her face pressed into Mando's back at each shot thrown at them. Her grip on his waist tighten so much she thought she would suffocate him. Another bang came, but this time it hit their speeder. Mando and Lana were thrown off the bike. Lana stayed holding onto Mando for her life as they tumbled into the ground throwing up sand.

Lana groaned throwing herself off Mando's back. She laid with her back to the sand and looked up to the stars. The sand did no justice on lighting their fall, her entire body hurt. Mando stood up and let another flash charge bellow into the sky attempting to block the scope for Toro.

After the charge cleared the shooter got a clear shot on Mando. Mando was shot in the center of his beskar throwing him back. Lana heard the shot bounce off his armor and heard his grunt echo in the valley.

She rolled over to him and laid her elbows a top of his chest. "Mando?" She asks. He was still grunting in pain. Fear pulsed through her. She didn't want to lose Mando the same as her father, but she knew how strong Mando was, she was just so paranoid.

"I'm okay." He lifts himself, smoke still radiating off him from the shot. "Can you walk? "Mando asks her in a pained growl. "Yeah I'm fine, just hurts a little." She says, it was quite an understatement. Her body was full of pain.

The shots from the ridge in front of them draw the two from their conversation. "When we get back to ship, we'll see if anything wrong." He says standing up, walking toward where the shots rang out from. 

•·················•·················•

When Lana and Mando reached Toro and the assassin, they found Toro being pinned by Fennec. He draws his pistol, as does Lana. "Nice distraction." Fennec stops her grip and surrenders to Mando.

Toro grunts "Yeah, good work, partner."

"Cuff yourself." Mando drops a pair of handcuffs to Fennec not dropping his aim on her.

"Why don't you go find your blaster?" Mando says. Toro nods his head, walking around Fennec he kept his eye on her. 

"A Mandalorian." Fennec nearly sings to the pair. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of your kind." She stands up eyeing Mando. "Ever been to Navarro?"

The moment the word left Fennecs lips, Mando grew tense, Lana saw his shoulders lift and his head tilt slightly. Lana couldn't see the man's face, but she grew to read his body language. "I heard things didn't go too well there but, it looks like you got off easy." Mando stayed silent, as did Lana. She was confused as to what Fennec spoke about.

"You don't have to worry about gettin to Navarro. or anywhere else, once we turn you in." Toro interrupts the tense conversation.

"You know I should really thank you, you're my ticket into the guild."

"You're welcome." She says sarcastically. 

•·················•·················•

Reaching the bikes, Fennec lends her hand at another comment, "Uh-oh looks like one of us is gonna have to walk."

Mando tossed the woman down. "Or we could drag you." Lana's eyebrows rose at his statement but under the cloud of darkness it wasn't evident. Lana followed Toro and Mando toward the bikes. "All right, so what is the plan?"

"I need you to go find that dewback we saw."

"And leave you two here with my bounty and my ride?" He gestures to the woman. "Yeah, I don't think so, Mando."

Both Lana and Mando grew annoyed at Toro. They had done this all to help him and he was being so difficult. Mando turned toward the sea of dunes scanning for the dewback.

"Okay, we'll do it. Watch Fennec, and don't let her get near the bike." Mando warns, "She's no good to us dead."

Lana groaned at the thought of walking all that way to retrieve the reptile. But she didn't want to be left with Toro, so she followed him on his way.

•·················•·················•


	10. 10

When they arrived at the dewback, Lana's legs felt as if they were going to fall out from beneath her. Mando untangled the man's foot from the rope still attached to the dewback. With a grunt, Mando stood up facing Lana on the side of the giant reptile.

Mando noticed how exhausted she was, all she wanted to do was sleep. He noticed her dark circles mirrored the ones she had when he met her. He tilted his head slightly, before nodding for her to get up.

She tried, she really did to climb onto the dewbacks back. Every part of her body was exhausted and sore. Mando saw this weariness and grabbed her waist and threw her up to the dewback. With a thump, Mando landed in front of her. Their position mirrored that of when they rode the bikes, Lana was slumped against Mando's back. This time there wasn't any sand being kicked up in her face, but she was in such need for more shuteye.

By the time Mando and Lana were close to where they left Toro with the bounty, Toro was long gone. Approaching, Lana woke from her slumber rested against Mando's harsh back. Lana reaches her head up to look over Mando's shoulder as the dewback stopped. She saw that the bike was gone, Fennec laid dead in the sand. "What happened?" She asks Mando resting her chine on his shoulder

All his response was, was a sigh. Lana accepted that response as the dewback made a U-turn back toward the hangar they came from. The ride back was silent, she could tell Mando was upset. 

Nightfall came again, the were back to the warming lights of the city. Once they got closer to the hangar, Mando saw the bike parked just outside, with the door open. Mando dropped from the dewback, as did beside him.

As Mando approached the open door, he withdrew his pistol, as did Lana. Cautiously, Lana followed Mando into the hangar. The silence was deafening. Mando searched the surroundings slowly with every step. One of Peli's droids darted across Mando's step and joined the other droids inside.

Lana started walking toward the ship, her gun drawn and pointed in front of her. "Took the two of you long enough." Lana hears his voice from inside Mando's ship. Walking out of the ship, Toro had the child in his grasp with a blaster pointed at Pelis head.

Mando ran to Lana's side sighing at the sight.

"Looks like I'm calling the shots now. Huh, partner?"

Lana feels her blood boil at his words. She was so angry but afraid. Mando spotted her shaking hand. He put his hand on her blaster, lowering it with his hand.

"Drop your blasters and raise them." Toro demands. Mando does as he says, tossing his blaster to the ground. When he reaches back up, Lana still had hers in hand. "Drop it." Mando says, she trusts Mando, but she was afraid for the child and Peli.

Reluctantly, she drops her blaster in the sand next to Mando's. The two raise their hands over their head. Lana's look on Toro could shoot daggers. "Cuff him." He demands Peli. "The girl, come up here."

Lana's breath hitches. She looks to Mando, all he does is nod. Lana gave him a begging look. All he could do was drop his head. Lana took her first step toward Toro, her body screaming at her not to go toward him.

As Lana walks up the ramp, she passes Peli. Peli looked terrified walking with the bindings. Lana replaced Peli in her position in front of Toro. She felt the cold barrel of his gun touch the back of her head.

Behind her she heard the child cooing, cooing for her. She swallowed the ball in her throat and shut her eyes, trembling under the touch of the gun.

Mando's heart hurt seeing her this way, he knew he had to get her out of his grasp. Mando slips a flash charge into his hands before Peli walked behind him.

"You're a Guild traitor, Mando." Toro says while Peli brings the cuffs up to Mando's wrists. "I'm willing to bet that this here is the target you helped escape."

"Bringing you in won't just make me a member of the Guild, it'll make me legendary."

Lana sighs.

Then, from behind Mando's head he released a flash charge into the air. It blinded Toro, but also Lana. She knew what it was and rolled away from Toros weapon. She landed in the sand beside the ramp spitting out the grains that went into her mouth. She stayed down, not daring to pop her head up. 

A shot rang out and the weight of Toros body hit the ground parallel to her. "Stay back." Mando states to Peli walking toward the dead man.

"Where is it?" Peli says anxiously. Lana sits up from her position, resting her elbows on her knees while rubbing her eyes. She feels the three little fingers of the child touch her thigh. She could barely see the child through her blurred vison, but she felt his presence. She heard its soft babble and slowly reached her hand out to find the top of its head.

"He's right here." She states. Mando and Peli run toward her. Peli picks up the child, Mando helps Lana up from where she fell off the ramp.

"That was really loud for your big old ears wasn't it?" She coos at the child.

"I can't see." Lana says attempting to grip Mando's armor. "You're alright, it'll go away in a couple minutes." He promises her.

Mando leaves Lana's side for a split second to grab the money off the dead bounty hunter's waist. Finding his way back to her, Lana found her grip back on Mando's wrist.

Mando accepted the child from Pelis hold. "Be careful with him."

"So, I take it you didn't get paid?" Peli half-jokes. Mando took the money that he retrieved from Toro and starts pouring the bag into her hand.

Dropping the credits in her hand Peli couldn't believe how much he had given her. "That cover us?"

Lana began getting her vison back, she drops her grip from Mando's wrist.

"Yeah, yeahs that's gonna cover you." Peli agrees. Mando and Lana give her a final nod.

"Thank you for everything." Lana states smiling down to her, then to the child.

"You have a beautiful family, keep that way. Stop getting yourselves into so much danger." She states giving the child a final grin.

Mando turns to walk up the ship, Lana gives Peli a final nod before following Mando into the cockpit. 

Mando started the ship, slowly lifting them into the air before sending the trio out of Tatooine's atmosphere. Lana was in her seat behind him swaying the child gently back and forth trying to relieve herself of what just happened. 

Lana glances up to the back of his helmet. He had his head down. Lana scooted herself forward in her seat slowly not to disrupt the child who was nearly asleep. She reached her hand out to lightly touch Mando's shoulder.

Lana took a deep breath. Mando's head finally rose, his breath stretching his broad shoulders. Mando turned in his chair to face the two. He felt his heavy heart lighten at the sight of the child resting soundly in Lana's arms. There was a long pause before Mando does something that confuses Lana.

Mando leans forward, Lana does the same not exactly knowing what was to happen. Mando rests his helmet lightly onto Lana's forehead. Under his helmet he closes his eyes, imagining a world where they were settled down, and his helmet was no longer the boundary between the two. 

Where the child could be free of other bounty hunters, where he could play with the other children and grow up with a mom and dad. 

It was a life he knew he could never give the child. 

Mando rested one of his hands on Lana's knee, pulling his head away from her he realized he should have never had yes to having her come with him on Sorgan. He realized he cared for her, for her safety. 

"I put you into danger. You could've gotten killed. I should take you home. You don't deserve this life." Lana had never heard the Mandalorian ramble like he did right now in front of her. 

She places her hand over his on her knee. "I'll be alright." She repeats her father's final words. "I'm strong."

"I know you are... I just..." he draws out. He comes to an ultimatum with himself. "If we're going to stay by each other' sides, I want you to learn to fight."

She smiles. "I know how to fight." 

"Learn to fight better."

•·················•·················•


End file.
